For the Sake of the House" is written to heighten awareness of the organizational dynamics of the church and advance new strategies to meet the demands of this century. Despite the growing urgency on today's organizations to poise themselves for sustainability, many local congregations and religious organizations continue to function as they have for decades, seemingly oblivious to the vicissitudes of life experienced by their members, those who work and live in a world that is changing at an accelerating rate. My objective is to present challenges and perspectives overlooked or ignored by many church leaders. It is organized into four parts with three streams of ideas making up the first three parts and then converging in part four to unveil the integrated whole. An introductory chapter sets the stage with a challenge to traditional perspectives of church organizational structure and leadership. Part one stresses the critical need to understand the church as an organization. Part two defines strategic leadership qualities essential to today's church. Part three addresses the significant advantages of strategic foresight. Part four deals with organizational leadership from a global perspective with local impact. You will be challenged to reevaluate conventional thinking patterns that, while confortable for us, can get in the way of our mission and distort our vision. You will be challenged to rethink leadership styles and organizational structures the Church adopted years ago. We have changed our dress, our modes of transportation, our communication tools and access to information, our music, and many other things. Now it is time to ensure the organizational models and the leadership styles we adopt do not thwart the message. For the sake of the house and the Gospel upon which it is built, we must be strategic in our leadership, wise as serpents yet harmless as doves.
